The Latest: EU condemns deadly Afghan attacks

Men look at the remains of their properties at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 24, 2017. A suicide car bomb killed dozens of people as well as the bomber early Monday morning in a western neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital where several prominent politicians reside, a government official said. (AP Photos/Massoud Hossaini)

KABUL — The Latest on the suicide car attack in a western neighbourhood of Kabul (all times local):

5:10 p.m.

The European Union has condemned two deadly attacks in Afghanistan in the last two days, saying it stands alongside Afghan authorities in their fight against violent extremism.

The EU expressed condolences to victims of a Taliban attack on Sunday on a district headquarters in western Ghor province and a suicide car bombing on Monday in Kabul. The Kabul blast, also claimed by the Taliban, killed 24 people and wounded 42.

The EU blamed the deadly violence on opponents of what it called Afghanistan’s “difficult path toward peace.”

The 28-nation bloc says it “continues to stand by the Afghan authorities and people in the fight against terrorism and to support their efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous future for all Afghan citizens.”

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3:25 p.m.

Pakistan has condemned the horrific Taliban suicide car bombing in Kabul that killed 24 people, calling “terrorism a common enemy.”

Pakistan has been bitterly criticized by the Afghan government and the United States for providing safe haven to Taliban insurgents, a charge Islamabad flatly rejects.

Pakistan and Afghanistan regularly trade accusations that the other is harbouring its insurgent enemies. The two countries have exchanged lists of militants they want handed over. Kabul has also given Islamabad the several locations it says Taliban are maintaining training camps.

The Taliban said 37 people were killed in Monday’s attack but the insurgents often exaggerate territorial gains and death tolls.

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2:20 p.m.

Several residents of Kabul who were lightly wounded in the horrific Taliban suicide car bombing that killed 24 earlier in the day are criticizing the lapse in security measures they say enabled the attack.

They say the area is home to several prominent politicians, including Mohammed Mohaqiq, deputy to Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. They expressed frustration that the Afghan government was unable to secure the neighbourhood.

Amir Helam, whose friend died in the explosion, told Afghanistan’s Tolo TV that “every day people are dying. If you cannot bring peace then please leave and bring other people.”

Noorullah, who uses just one name, was in his dormitory at a nearby university when the explosion occurred. He says he “saw so many injured people and cars burning.” Noorullah received minor injuries from flying glass.

Kabul has been battered by explosions claimed by the Taliban and by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan. On May 31, the Afghan capital saw its worst suicide attack since the Taliban’s collapse in 2001 — an attack that killed 150 people and wounded scores.

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10:50 a.m.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a horrific attack in the Afghan capital that killed 24 people and wounded 42.

A statement released to the media by the Taliban says they carried out the suicide car bombing. The early morning attack targeted a bus carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

The statement, sent by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, says the target of the bombing was the intelligence services and their employees.

He claimed the bus was filled with employees of the intelligence services but Kabul police chief spokesman Basir Mujahed said the employees worked for the mines and petroleum ministry.

Mujahid said Taliban insurgents had spent the last two months shadowing the intelligence services before carrying out the attack.

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9:40 a.m.

An Afghan government official says the death toll from a suicide car bombing in a western neighbourhood of Kabul has climbed to 24.

The official says 42 people were wounded in the attack early on Monday morning. Kabul police chief spokesman Basir Mujahed says the bomber targeted a bus carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

He said all the dead and wounded are civilians. The suicide bomber rammed his car into a minibus carrying the government employees.

The Interior Ministry in a statement called the attack a “criminal attack against humanity.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but in the past, both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has staged assaults in the Afghan capital.

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8:25 a.m.

An Afghan government official says the death toll in a suicide car bombing in a western neighbourhood of Kabul has climbed to 12. Another 10 people were injured in the early Monday morning attack, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. All the dead and wounded were civilians, he said.

Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber seemed to target a minibus. It wasn’t known whether the bus carried government employees but Danish said police were on the scene investigating.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

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7:45 a.m.

An Afghan health ministry official says two people were killed and another two injured in a suicide car bomb attack in a western neighbourhood of Kabul early Monday morning.

Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majrooh told The Associated Press two people died in the explosion along with the suicide bomber. Another two people were hurt, although the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

Several prominent political leaders, such as Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq, live in western Kabul.

The area has been the scene of several attacks including the suicide attack that killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada last month. Hussainzada was also a senior leader of Afghanistan’s Hazara community.